Whilst maintaining the accessibility for the beginner, the level of this second edition has been raised by the addition of much more detail, a greater focus on theories and controversies, and a clearer route to key works in the field. History of English:

• examines the history of the English language in order to explain the English that is used today
• introduces key linguistic concepts
• provides 'discussion points' to generate debate
• involves readers in collecting and analyzing their own data
• contains a 'mini-corpus' of texts, used for exercises and to illustrate points raised in the commentary.

Revised throughout, this updated edition contains a new internet resource section and an updated further reading section, to help readers take their study further.

'This second edition ... retains the outstanding features of the first edition - it covers all the topics relevant to a study of the history of English. In addition, the second edition brings with it a new rigour and a fuller and more careful and detailed account of, in particular, spelling and speech sounds, grammar, dialects and standardisation. I congratulate the author on the improvements made in this second edition.' - Sue Powell, University of Salford, UK

Jonathan Culpeper is based a the Department of Linguistics and Modern English Language at the University of Lancaster.